The Pinkbike Podcast: Episode 93 - Staying Motivated and Overcoming Burnout

 @mikelevy hearing both you and Henry speak to the downsides of social media and how personally it can take away from the joy and experience of riding more than it adds. It would be really interesting to have a full time mtb “influencer” on the podcast. As someone who is also beginning to discover that getting sucked in to doing it “for the gram” has more of a negative effect on me than a positive one. Hearing from a rider who earns a living from riding on social media, documenting posting every ride on youtube or stopping for each feature for a photo stays motivated and fights burnout could be a very intriguing conversation.

 One of the best podcasts so far. So relatable on so many levels. I have had a suspicion for a while that many mountain bikers are just sensitive head cases who need the sport as an outlet. This podcast confirmed it for me, particularly listening to Henry talk about his experience with reclaiming bikes for himself. Thanks for laying it all out there for us, Henry! This was quality content.

 Agree with Henry. Social media is really shitty. Trying to look cool for people you normally wouldn't consider friends, and looking at them doing the same thing and thinking "wow I should be doing as much cool stuff as they are doing." It takes a toll on a person. When you get off that and move to a more traditional smaller social circle you can just enjoy being a normal person again.

 This was interesting in a way- but I think for the regular Joe (and 5% Jeanne's here) it's the other way round, we use mountain biking to prevent burnout from our regular day jobs, and hell it works well!

 My solution for burnout: Make poor excuses not to ride all of fall until the snow arrives and then have the same acceptable excuse as everyone else until the spring. In the meantime do nothing to try change my attitude and hope for the best. Top level adulting.

 I feel bad how @henryquinney feels about his GMBN videos. His videos were a massive highlight of the channel, the demeanour, and approach was so much more relatable than a former pro. I liked the poetic musing of his everesting challenge, especially using a normal mtb bike not some lightweight xc thingy. I am pretty sure I watched it and was inspired to head out onto the trails. But I also agree going on social media to seek validation is a recipe for disaster.

 Strava almost ruined mountain biking for me because I found that when I was using it I would feel like I HAD to ride, not that I wanted to ride, and it was turning my favorite thing to do for the last 25+ years of my life into something more like a job. It would get to be the last couple of months of the year, and I would see that I would need "X" amount of miles to hit some mileage milestone for the year, and I would start forcing myself to get out for rides. Not only was this an issue because I was finding myself riding in pretty bad weather conditions and potentially putting myself in harm's way, but it also caused tension in my home because responsibilities started to fall more on my wife because I'd "just have to get at least 5 miles in" instead of, say, driving my kid to their sports practices. At the end of 2020 I did a ride on Strava and titled it "adios Strava" and deleted the app. I've enjoyed riding so much more ever since.

And now that I've put this down in writing, I think I may have been the first Strava addict. GO COLD TURKEY, FRIENDS! Dump your Strava before it gets you too!

 I love Henry's attitude, especially towards Strava and being vocal about your rides. I used to judge my riding on strava KOMs and people seeing how 'much' I ride and how 'good' I am at it. It nearly killed my love for riding bikes. On day I simply ditched it and rode for fun again, that was, in Henry's words, simply liberating.

 My strategy is to do 1-3 "road" rides a week to keep in good condition, either on the road, flat trails, or concrete greenway trails. I listen to an audiobook. So it isn't "riding time" in my mind, it's book reading time. This keeps me in a high level of condition for when I want to do a serious trail ride or go on a trip with my friends.

 My solution:

1) more silly/stupid rides involving beer and friends

2) more campouts involving bikes

3) a variety of bikes, hopefully some of which are objectively less efficient so that getting a Strava PR/medal is totally off the table when you're riding it

4) a variety of rides (trail smashers, trail cruisers, solo rides, group rides, long rides, short rides, rides out of town, varying common routes, etc.)

 I know it’s inconceivable to most, but sometimes you go through periods where it’s just not as fun to ride. It’s ok. Take a break and do something else for a while. That’s ok, too. I pretty much hang up the bike right around now, go skiing. Pick it up again in March/April. I think it helps me not get burnt out.

 I liked this episode, but was sad at a few things Henry said. I loved him on GMBN and thought he did a great job, and the one episode of his that has stuck in my mind since I watched it was his Everesting attempt. To hear that he regrets this episode made me especially sad; Henry, it was fantastic! I thought it gave us an honest view of who he was as a person on the bike, and I appreciated him for doing that.

Seriously, Henry, stop the self-hatred; I loved you for all you did at GMBN, and am glad you ended up at PinkBike where I can continue hearing your opinions.

PS: The other great Henry moment I remember was the "odd one out" game he played with Blake in which he asked Blake if "Thirsty Kirsty" was a real Schwalbe tyre, and when Blake had to think about it, Henry lost his shit and couldn't stop laughing.

 A couple of things help keep me riding year round. I carry a large Silky trailsaw, I watch for reports of trees down on our local trails and plan some of my rides around those, clearing the trees as I go.

I post a report of my rides on Instagram, which then come back each year as a reminder, a bit of a motivator. Most days have several years of reminders now. So when it’s cold and dark out in the mornings, I’m reminded it was like that ‘today’ last year or 4 years ago and it was a great ride so get out there!

 I like basically deciding whether to ride or ski in the spring based on weather here in the rockies-if it's going to be dry, then I go ride in the desert, if it's raining, it'll be sticky in the desert and powder in the mountains, so it's a no brainer to go ski. Also taking the odd backpacking trip makes me miss bikes more.

 @henryquinney I can completely relate to what you where saying about needing the validation from other people. I love a big adventure and used to be well known locally as the big ride guy, the pressure I felt to keep posting up on Strava with my rides was crazy, if I had a mechanical or another issue where I had to cut a ride short I felt like I had to explain myself in the title of the ride, it nearly ruined biking, the solution was delete Strava, insta and Facebook, I still go on some crazy rides but no one but me knows and that’s the way it should be!! There’s more pleasure in being a man of mystery.

 I'm glad PB hired Henry, there's a lot more interesting depth to him than I experienced watching him on GMBN (shrooms aside).

Still waiting for Levy's buddy Wayne to appear on the show.

 Did anyone else notice the stark contrast:

"Schwalbe is making tires from recycles rubber"
vs
"and today's sponsor wants you to trade in your current, most likely still functioning, cycling computer for their new model"

Thats almost as bad as throwing your tires in the river as soon as the hair is gone :p

 Great podcast. I try to ride consistently and am always trying to improve my skills on the bike. Struggled with motivation this summer when it felt like every ride was becoming mentally taxing / super techy, and can't see progress /falling off. Simultaneously, other friends who have been riding for less time seemed to be doing harder lines, despite me trying hard. And mostly I ride with men (I'm a woman), and they are usually faster climbers etc than me, even though I'm fast for a woman, which just leaves me feeling more frustrated. And then every time you look on YouTube etc, more pro bikers and non pro shredding crazy stuff/ big rides, which just makes one feel inadequate. Then it becomes this weird mental war of being like, oh, I'm only going to ride easy (because then I won't ride poorly) Vs being angry with myself for taking easier lines... Then I just became super frustrated and disinterested in biking...

I found I regained interest by deleting Instagram /fb (still strava for myself ) and trying to do more fun rides with stoked friends, rather than just grinding out strava times etc... What a strange world of social media we live in...

 I happened to look at a gmbn-tech video with Henry the other day, and it made me remember you (Henry) did really really good ones.

I avoid paying for strava and I'm far from top ten so I can basically only see my own times and compete with myself. Works for me to avoid feeling like the average (at best) rider I am.

 Quite enjoyed that podcast everyone...Henry, damn you think too much. Ignorance is bliss on my part (I'm just not that intelligent obvi). My personality is very similar to @mikekazimer but quite interesting to listen to everyone's self introspective.

Been riding must be 30 years now and what keeps me stoked, (1) Learning new shit! Finally forced myself to use my dropper this year and wholly shit, it was a game changer. (2) Travelling to new places...this year Squamish and Quebec. (3) Living in Canada, I skate ski for the winter months. By April I'm so ready to ride again, we usually head down to Brevard or Sedona. (4) Fun rides with friends with various social rides over the summer complete with BBQ nights, costumes, etc.

 This was an excellent podcast. I recently switched to riding a single speed to help with motivation. If I have to maintain less and worry about components less I can just focus on riding having fun and not taking myself too seriously.

 I take social media with a grain of salt. I find the worst one is Strava. It's so easy to get caught up into what everyone is doing that soon the love of riding becomes second to posting better times. You start losing trail etiquette and stopping to chat with other riders. Some people train for strava racing, not actual racing. Or they're marking your rides. It's so weird. As for riding, I've taken 3 years off to do other things. I sold my mountain bike last year and took some time off, now I'm trying gravel riding. It's good to mix things up.

 Awesome podcast folks. I find my personality similar to Levy and Henry, and as such, I found when they spoke about their struggles with motivation to hit home for me. I walked away with some ideas to keep up the stoke. Thank you and keep it coming!

 Question for when you get to the field test podcast: how does it being sponsored by Bontrager and one of the bikes is a Trek work? Not intended to be the troll it may sound like. I honestly think you’ve done a good job explaining stuff like embargoes vs. sequestering and “review on Monday.”

 Glad Henry was aware enough to point out the tire industry using crap advertising to pass the blame onto consumers. For example most things being recycled currently (living in the us )end up going directly into the Landfill. So while recycling can be good it doesn’t actually help much to expect the consumer to take care of the problems big business created and profits from.

 @mikelevy: Don’t know if this has been covered, but maybe a good topic for the podcast would be mountain bike products that exceeded expectations. For me, that would be Muc Off and I9 wheels. I used to dread cleaning my bike before Muc Off, and I9 convinced me there’s a big difference between good and OK wheels. I think we’ve all had those moments where we were like, “I’m glad I bought that. It’s made my (riding) life better.

 Cycling burn out is a problem I'd like to have. I'm stuck with long-covid currently wondering if I'll be able to ride to the same capacity again. If been off the MTB for 7 months now. Ride your bike, be grateful for every second.

 @mikelevy holy cow, I have never heard of anyone else needing an enemy for motivation (real or perceived) and so many other points that capture my personal arc as well as this did. So nice to share the mental battles that you tend to think are yours alone. This podcast was really amazing and I think it should be an end of season / annual round up again. Also a good base topic for any future guests you have. Thanks PB!

 Can’t ski every day or even every weekend and I don’t have a fat bike because after dark riding at most spots around here will get you either a ticket or arrested. We’ve got a peloton bike that’s been a friggin lifesaver for my sanity in the winter. I work on base miles and turn my brain off for a few hours a time and put on long POV rides on the TV to distract myself.

 How about some more content from RC?

 My plan to overcome burnout for 2022 involves a 300cubic centimeter displacement 2-stroke

 I turned Strava into a monster for myself. Its a great app and i have used it for ever but decided to can it last month. Cant say i mis it too much. It definitely got me riding more to chase the “goals” but the joy was ultimately gone. As i said, app is great, i made a monster of it.

 Thanks for the advice as always. I think a big part of the trouble is the levers. I tried to save $10 after spending over $1,000. My cheap side can really mess me up.

www.pinkbike.com/photo/21734093

As for motivation, it is sad how little I ride. Let's put it this way, I built more bikes in the last two months than times riding (one). Some times it is good reasons like weather or injury but mostly I don't know how to manage my time. But the good news is that knowing I will get to ride eventually gives me hope and helps me stay motivated in other areas of life.

 Because social media has become such a big part of mountain biking it probably merits a podcast all of its own.

@henryquinney I think I understand what you mean. I sometimes think it must be difficult to be recognised when you're just out there trying to enjoy your hobby. In the unlikely event that I ever spot you out on the trails I will try to resist the urge to say hi despite the fact your clearly a very interesting multi-dimensional character.

If you're are enjoying bikes who cares about anything else.

 Living in SoCal makes it easier to ride year round, staying motivated for me isn't too hard. I commute 4 days a week (I drive one day and MTB after work with the GF) on my roadie an hour each way. I could drive or ride my motorcycle, but I prefer the pedal. I also run, rock climb, and ride track on a motorcycle so I have other things I can do besides ride

I found a good balance with social media. I don't go on it much, follow mostly friends only, and only post once in a while. And I am mostly posting so my grandma can see what I am doing (I need to post more), so I'm not trying to prove anything. I did take a break from Strava for a while (partially because of a car accident) and was getting messages from followers that they missed my posts so I looked forward to sharing my rides again, but I don't feel like I need to prove anything, I just do what I want.

I'm finding less motivation trying to do the right thing for the environment though. I work at a factory in the maintenance department and have tried to do several things to improve efficiency or save energy, and all of it has been ignored or blown off. I won't be specific, but we are burning more energy in a day than I probably use in a month or two (combined) doing absolutely nothing, and it's demotivating.

 Also enjoyed the podcast.

I appreciate the level headedness of folks like @mikekazimer, but am more inclined to be like @mikelevy

I have a penchant to overdo activities, until I'm sick of them. And have had periods of burnout on the bike where it sat idle for 6 months. I think I'm a bit older and more sensible now, so hopefully that won't happen again.

 I was highly motivated to ride this afternoon. But alas, it's raining. Soil is mostly clay around here, can't ride when wet. I'm sad now.

 You promised a few extra F-Bombs , and you delivered
Nothing to ask or add, this was a very fun podcast.
Thankyou

 @henryquinney if Portugal inspired you see also if the way rubber is produced does it for your opinion about tyres recycling... time for a lot of stuff is also ending with us...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fusUxEPwsw

 I can offend people with 3 words: E-Bikes are good.

 When I can’t get motivated to ride the bicycle I go out and work on trails.

 Have you thought about doing a strictly Q & A podcast? I want to know more about the mini, and how the Grim donut is going to take over the MTB world!

 @mikekazimer totally get the stoic East Coast thing. Dealing with aging parents from Vermont! What the hell is in the water back East?

 Trail building/maintaining is good way to get some time off the bike and will make the trails you ride better. Win/Win.

 Living in Alaska provides a built in failsafe against getting burnt out on riding!!!

 A solid conversation Henry you come across very well spoken then you drop the F bomb really no need of it Time and a place sir

 Isn't Brian Park a father? As a dad of two I'd love to hear how he balances family time with bike time.

 Whats your strava levy?

 Great podcast.

 this one was real talk!

 @mikelevy next time you’re burnt out on bike, you’re still welcome to come play with cars here !

 Henry had great insight. Definitely showed this is something that he is passionate about and has thought about a lot.

 @henryquinney thanks for getting me finally quit instagram. It just f*cks you up.

 Best PB Podcast to date, some of the most relatable content I've experienced in recent memory. Keep it up!!!!

 ALIENS!!!!!!

 Rossi is a 9 time World Champion, he's an 89 time winner

 Great insight from Henry. Dude has social media and a lot of other things figured out.

 Sombrio Squall vs Poc Mantle Thermal

 This is my favorite PB podcast yet!

 Jah feel @mikelevy 3

 Henry has been an awesome addition to the team

 You guys cover e-bikes?

 I like the pod and all the hosts..... but Henry take a breath and make some space for Sarah. It will show actual self awareness